Boys basketball: Downers Grove North blitzes St. Laurence early, cruises into Tosh semifinals

ELMHURST – Less than 24 hours after a buzzer-beating second round win at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic, Downers Grove North got to breathe a little easier Thursday.

Blitzing St. Laurence with six three-pointers in the opening quarter, the Trojans cruised into the semifinals with a 55-44 win.

Downers Grove North (11-1), which beat Stagg Wednesday on a layup by Aidan Akkawi at the horn, will take on defending Class 3A state champion Metamora at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

”Coach was preaching to start off strong,” said Alex Miller, who topped the Trojans with 17 points. “We kept the ball moving and didn’t force shots and played solid defense. We had a good scouting report and we did a good job executing the game plan.

”When we hit shots, the whole team feels the energy. And we are all happy for each other. We aren’t looking for our own shot, we are looking for open shots for our teammates.”

Miller hit a pair of trifectas at the outset, as did Jack Stanton and Owen Thulin, to help the Trojans to a 14-0 start and 22-6 lead after the first eight minutes. That advantage swelled to 33-15 by halftime, with Stanton banking in a three at the buzzer. He finished with 16 points, six rebounds and three steals.

”We had talked, there were some things we had to clean up from games prior,” Stanton said. “And earlier today, we watched the film from yesterday and we learned a lot from it. Then we came out and took care of business today.

”One of the things we talked about, we played selfishly at times (against Stagg). Today we played like ourselves, sharing the basketball.”

Downers Grove North, entered into the Tosh tourney for the first time after winning the East Aurora event the past two years, nailed 11 3′s in the contest, five by Miller. Thulin also finished with 12 points and six assists and Jake Riemer contributed 10 rebounds for the Trojans, who led by as many as 19 points.

”When it came down to Hinsdale Central or the Tosh (for the Christmas tourney), I gave the kids the choice,” said DGN coach Jim Thomas, whose team placed fourth in Class 4A last winter, “and they chose here because of the field. We are excited to get the opportunity (Friday) and I’m sure our kids are fired up about it.

”It was nice to get that win yesterday the way we did and then parlay that into a good start today. The kids played really well from start to finish.”

The Vikings (8-6) were topped by the 23 points of Zerrick Johnson.